WCW Starrcade 1992 (Version II)

Original Airdate: December 28, 1992

From Atlanta, Georgia; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura

Opening Lethal Lottery Match: Cactus Jack and Johnny B. Badd v Van Hammer and Dan Spivey: Cactus starts with Van, and hammers him in the corner ahead of trying a leveraged pin for two. Hammer responds by slapping him in the face a few times, and a bodyslam sets up a legdrop for two. Over to Badd, and Johnny tries a hiptoss, but gets reversed, and Hammer hits an elbowdrop. Badd fires back with a pair of armdrags, and a nasty rana gets two. Ouch, Hammer was lucky he didn't get crippled there. They're nice enough to let him tag out after that, and Spivey slugs it out with Jack. Dan hits a clothesline and a bodyslam, then tags out to Hammer to try grounding Jack in a headlock. That goes badly, however, and Badd tags in, so Spivey throws a cheap shot at him. Hammer isn't on board with that, but Dan could care less, and tags himself in to hit Johnny with a scrapbuster. They cut the ring in half on Badd, but Johnny escapes Spivey long enough to tag, and Cactus comes in with a bulldog and an elbowdrop for two. Dan dumps him to the outside to try and buy time, but Jack clotheslines him on the way back in - only to find partner Badd down on the outside when he tries to tag out. That allows Spivey a Russian legsweep, and Hammer hits a jumping shoulderblock for two - Badd trying to save, but hitting Cactus! That leads to an altercation, and Hammer capitalizes by schoolboying Jack at 6:51. Not great, but very energetic, and lots of effort. * (Original rating: ½*)

Lethal Lottery Match: Big Van Vader and Dustin Rhodes v Barbarian and Kensuke Sasaki: Vader starts with Barbarian, which should be fun. A handshake quickly gets physical, and they decide to match strength to start, with lots of no-selling going on. Vader is finally able to take control by hitting a bodycheck, and tossing Barbarian into the corner for a barrage of shots, but a whip into the ropes backfires, and Barbarian takes him down with a series of clotheslines. He tries his own Irish whip, but Vader counters into a short-clothesline, and he passes to Dustin for a bearhug/jumping clothesline combo for two. Barbarian shrugs Rhodes off with a side suplex for two, but Dustin returns the favor, and Sasaki tags in. He tries a cross corner charge, but hits Dustin's backelbow for two, and Rhodes throws a dropkick at him. Bodyslam sets up a tag to Vader with a 2^nd rope bodyblock, and he drills poor Sasaki with a clothesline. I know this is hardly a news flash, but man, Vader was brutal. Front-powerslam gets two, and Vader tries a vertical suplex, but Sasaki counters with a dropkick. He tries a few clotheslines, so Vader blocks with a big boot, but another try at the suplex is reversed! Tags all around, and Rhodes comes in with a kneelift and a dropkick ahead of a jumping clothesline for two. That brings Sasaki in, but a miscommunication between him and Barbarian allows Rhodes to schoolboy for the pin at 6:56. Funny bit after, as Dustin wants to celebrate the win, but Vader just kicks his ass anyway. Something about Vader tonight reminds me of James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, whenever Tony was being mischievous. And I love that. ** ½ (Original rating: ¾*)

Lethal Lottery Match: Barry Windham and Great Muta v Brian Pillman and 2 Cold Scorpio: Windham starts with Scorpio, and hits a quick slam, but Scorpio pops up, and takes him down with a few armdrags. He holds a hammerlock, but fails to cut the ring in half, and Barry is able to tag while still in the hold. Reversal sequence goes nowhere, so Pillman tags in, and pounds Muta with right hands and a dropkick for two. Criss cross goes Muta's way with a dropkick of his own, and he grounds Pillman in a side-headlock. Tag to Windham, and he gets into a reversal sequence with his regular tag partner, but it quickly turns into a slugfest. This is an interesting dynamic, as they're challenging for the tag title together later on, and every shot they take at each other works against their title aspirations. Back to Muta for another criss cross, which he controls with a spinkick, so Brian drops him into the middle turnbuckle. Tag to Scorpio for a sloppy jumping punch for two, and a bodyslam sets up a splash, but Muta lifts his knees to block. Tag back to Barry, who absolutely levels Scorpio with a jumping clothesline for two, and a floatover suplex gets two. Tag to Muta for a tandem dropkick, and they cut the ring in half on Scorpio. It's hard to believe that Scorpio debuted all the way back in 1985, given how sloppy and green he looks here. He mounts a comeback, so Windham comes in, and Roseanne Barr the door! Muta takes out Pillman, so Windham hits Scorpio with an implant DDT, and Muta finishes him with a sloppy flying moonsault at 6:59. Pretty disjointed, and sloppy at points. * (Original rating: *)

Lethal Lottery Match: Sting and Steve Williams v Jushin Thunder Liger and Erik Watts: Sting and Liger start, and they spend some time feeling each other out. Tag to Williams for a suplex, but Liger blocks, and tags. Watts comes in with a few armdrags, but Dr. Death shrugs him off. Watts tries a bodypress for two, but gets thumped again, so he passes back to Liger. Jushin staggers Steve with a kick combo in the corner, but an attempt to get cute with some flippy floppy shit gets his ass clotheslined. Tag to Sting for an inverted powerslam into the turnbuckles for two, but Liger hooks a sunset flip for two, so Sting passes back to Dr. Death to pound him proper. Williams drops Liger throat-first across the top rope, and then Sting tags back in with a clothesline for two, now that Jushin is more docile. They cut the ring in half on Liger with surprising efficiency for two guys who have never teamed before, but Jushin manages to bulldog Williams for the tag. Watts comes in hot (including throwing his infamous mistimed dropkick), and he gets Steve in the STF, but Williams has the ropes. Watts keeps coming, but gets dumped to the outside, and eats a hot shot on the way back in at 9:08. Watts' involvement was limited, and this was fairly solid, but nothing special. * ¾ (Original rating: * ¼)

NWA World Title Match: Masahiro Chono v Great Muta: Chono blitzes him to start, and quickly hits a big boot, but Muta fires back with a forearm, and both guys back off. They slow things down by feeling each other out on the mat, and Chono throws a leg-feed enzuigiri that sends Muta bailing to the outside to regroup. He stays out there for a good while, and they trade abdominal stretches on the way back in. Cross armbreakers are exchanged next, until Muta moves on to a mat-based headscissors. Chono counters to a toehold, but Muta has the ropes to escape, so Chono kicks him in the gut, and tosses his challenger to the outside. Chono follows out, but Muta slides in to take the high ground - and then does nothing with it. Like, literally nothing. No dives, no attacks as Chono climbs back in - nothing. Chono climbs back in without incident and grounds him in a hammerlock, then shifts to an armbar. Bodyslam sets up a trip to the top rope, but Muta follows up with a vertical superplex for the first real high spot of the match thus far, some ten minutes in. Muta adds a backdrop before slowing things down again with an inverted Indian deathlock, but at least shifts it into the more impressive looking Muta-Lock before long. Unfortunately, they aren't getting it over at all, with both guys just kind of hanging around in the hold until Chono grabs the ropes, with no sense of danger. Chono with a snap suplex, so Muta throws a spinkick to send him to the outside, where the champion stalls. Still no dive from Muta. Back in, Muta hits the handspring backelbow, and a backbreaker sets up the flying moonsault, but Chono rolls out of the way. He starts kicking at the knee, so Muta hooks a sloppy inside cradle for two, and both guys throw simultaneous dropkicks for a double knockout. Chono recovers first with a side suplex, but a second one is countered with a bodyblock for two. Dropkick, but Chono dodges, and quickly applies the STF to retain at 14:32. The match wasn't terrible in the general sense, but certainly on the boring side, and it felt like they were keeping it in low gear the entire time. Like, when you watch Hulk Hogan wrestle Zeus, yeah it sucks, but you never get the feeling that they're trying anything less than their best. Here, the lack of effort was almost palpable. Of course, legend has it that they were told to intentionally go out and bomb so as not to steal focus away from the WCW guys. If true, how ridiculous! Like, even if every fan watching was blown away, and decided to become fans of New Japan, how does that conflict with WCW? It's not like they're running the same towns. Not to mention that this is the early 90s - most fans watching in America wouldn't have had access to Japanese wrestling shows anyway. If anything, putting on a great match might make the shrinking amount of people actually paying to attend WCW shows more likely to come back the next time, since the only place they could see these Japanese stars is in - you guessed it - WCW! ¾* (Original rating: DUD)

WCW World Title Match: Ron Simmons v Steve Williams: Williams is subbing for Rick Rude, who is injured. Handshake to start, and they feel each other out. Ron having writing down the side of his tights (the word 'PRIDE') looks pretty funny because his ass is so damn big that the first couple of letters look to be about five times the size of the last three letters. A 3-point stance showdown ends in Ron leapfrogging him and hitting a clothesline for two, and he grounds his challenger in an armbar. Doc gets the ropes and bails to the floor to regroup, but Ron grabs a wristlock on the way back in, so Steve uses the hair to force a break. Ron tries again, so Williams punches him right in the mouth to break, and now Simmons is getting downright angry. Another wristlock, but Doc goes to the hair again, and we have a slugfest! Simmons gets the better of it, and a two-handed bulldog gets him two. Back to the armbar for a bit, and Ron hits a bodyslam to setup a flying shoulderblock, but Steve moves out of the way. Williams goes to work on the knee (in psychologically sound, if dull, fashion), and a backbreaker gets two. Clothesline gets two, so Steve goes back to the leg with a toehold. Bodyslam sets up a pair of 3-point stances, but a third try is countered with a clothesline, as the crowd sits on their hands. Ron mounts his comeback with a spinebuster and his own 3-point stances, but his third one also misses, and Simmons goes falling to the outside. Steve follows to slug it out on the floor, and there's a shitty double countout at 15:16. But, since this is WCW, one bad finish per match isn't enough - the brawl continuing after the bell, until the referee decides to change the decision to a DQ win for Ron. Uh, yeah. The funny thing is that, even with their toned down efforts, the previous match was STILL better than this was. Simmons may have retained here, but he dropped the belt to Vader before the new year, and then got promptly demoted back to the midcard. ¼* (Original rating: ¼*)

NWA & WCW World Tag Team Title Match: Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas v Barry Windham and Brian Pillman: After losing the belts he held with former pal Dustin Rhodes at the last Clash, Barry returns with a new partner to go for the gold tonight. Kinda weird seeing Shane with an NWA belt without him throwing it down in disgust. Shane starts with Brian, and they feel each other out. Douglas manages to dump him to the outside during an exchange, so Barry comes in to attack, but Ricky cuts that off, and the challengers double team to clean house. Dust settles on Steamboat and Windham, and the Dragon wins a slugfest by throwing a flurry of chops. Vertical suplex follows, then back to Shane for a flying axehandle. Douglas follows with a snapmare down into a chinlock, so Windham side suplexes his way out, but Shane cuts off a tag, and passes back to Steamboat. The Dragon clotheslines Barry over the top, and he actually follows out with a bodyslam on the floor since he's still so pissed about the attack back at the Clash! Shane adds his own slam on the ramp for good measure before chucking Barry back inside, where Ricky is ready with a swinging neckbreaker for two. Tag to Douglas for a snapmare for two, and he goes back to the chinlock. Why tag in if all you're going to do in lock some chin? Barry escapes with a stunner, and that's enough to allow the tag back to Brian. Pillman comes in with a facebuster, but Shane dropkicks him, then goes to the top - only for Brian to knock him off with a dropkick of his own, with Shane taking a bump down to the floor! Man, the ringside area is filthy tonight! Clearly all the budget cuts didn't leave much for janitorial staff. Back in, the challengers cut the ring in half on dirty Douglas, but some cheap abuse on the floor angers Steamboat to the point where he runs over with a chair to save! Steamboat! With a chair! What will they think of next?! That's nearly enough to allow Shane to tag, but Brian cuts him off with a side suplex at the last second, and they go back to cutting the ring in half. Shane reverses a vertical suplex from Windham, and though Barry is near his home corner, he decides against tagging - instead opting to punch at Douglas. That backfires when a woozy Windham knocks Shane right into a tag after a right hand, and Steamboat comes in breathing fire! Slams for everyone! Chops for everyone! But, there's Windham with a powerslam out of the ropes, and he side suplexes the Dragon. Brian then tosses him over the top for Barry to post, but Ricky still manages to hit Pillman with a flying tomahawk chop on the way back in. Tilt-a-whirl slam, but Brian counters with a headscissors for two, then passes to Barry for a flying axehandle. He keeps hammering Steamboat, with the Dragon barely able to maintain a vertical base, but not dropping out of the fight! A kick downstairs changes his tune, but Windham misses another flying axehandle, and Steamboat manages a facebuster! Tag to Douglas, and Roseanne Barr the door! Ricky and Barry go tumbling over the top on a bodypress as Shane criss crosses with Brian - catching Pillman in a belly-to-belly suplex at 20:02 to retain. Good tag team wrestling here, with Pillman and Windham doing a nice job of getting over their inexperience as partners with less polished teamwork throughout. *** ¾ (Original rating: ***)

King of Cable Tournament Final Match: Big Van Vader v Sting: Sting slugs at him to start, but Vader just absorbs the blows, glares at him. Oooh, he came to play tonight. Vader casually bodyslams the Stinger, then does it a second time when Sting picks himself back up. Sting gets up again and tries charging, but he literally bounces off of the big man, and Vader press-drops his ass across the top rope! Again, but a short-clothesline misses, and Sting throws a somersault bodyblock at him as they criss cross, then a jumping kick to the face to put the monster down. A release German suplex follows, and a pair of clotheslines send Vader over the top to the outside - Sting diving with a plancha! The look Vader gives him from there lets him know that that flurry is going to cost him. Inside, Vader starts walloping him in the corner, but an avalanche misses. Sting tries for the Stinger Splash, but that misses, so he tries kicking Vader in the face a few times to setup a DDT. He takes the big bull to the top rope for a DDT from there for two, and he slaps on the Scorpion Deathlock, but Vader's in the ropes. The monster bails to the outside to regroup, so Sting follows with a Stinger Splash against the rail, but that one misses as well. Vader leaves him out there to take the count, but Sting manages to beat it back in, so Vader blasts him with a short-clothesline, and hits the avalanche that missed earlier. He adds a clothesline for two, and a side suplex sets up a splash for two. The way Vader immediately transitions into hooking the leg for the cover is great - knocking the wind out of the opponent, and then immediately on them. He grounds Sting on the mat for a bit, then tries another short-clothesline, but Sting counters to a backslide for two. That took a lot out of the Stinger, however, and Vader casually knocks him into the corner. Sting tries a sunset flip, so Vader counters with a seated senton splash, but Sting gets out of the way. He has nothing to follow-up with, however, and Vader unloads on him in the corner again. Headlock, so Sting musters the strength to side suplex free, but he's so battered that Vader recovers first, and actually covers HIM for two! That's pretty awesome, and really gets over the condition Sting is in at this point. More abuse in the corner puts Sting within an inch of his life, but Vader doesn't let up. He takes Sting upstairs to kill to a superplex, but Sting manages to knock him off the ropes - only to fall down himself, so battered to can't even perch for a follow-up move. Again, Vader recovers first, and starts absolutely wailing on Sting. Sting tells him to keep coming like Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, taking blow after blow, but refusing to do down. Finally, Vader tires himself out, and Sting is able to return fire - knocking the monster down after a flurry of fists. He somehow musters the strength to Samoan drop him, but just his luck, Vader is in the ropes. Sting goes up with a flying splash, but it only gets two. That brings Harley Race onto the apron for a distraction, and Vader attacks from behind, then chokeslams his ass to setup a 2^nd rope flying splash. To the top to finish this shit, but Sting catches him with a powerslam coming down, and he gets the pin at 17:39! This wasn't a battle, it was a war. It's kind of amazing that not only were both guys on their second matches of the night, but that they'd actually wrestle AGAIN immediately after this. Just an absolutely brutal match, with Vader stiffly throwing everything at Sting, and Sting having to gut it out until he was able to find the weak spot he needed to bring down the Death Star that is Van Vader. What a great way to cap off a strong year of in-ring performances for Sting – perhaps his strongest year. **** ½ (Original rating: *** ¾)

Main Event: BattleBowl 8-Man Battle Royal: We've got all the Lethal Lottery winners - Big Van Vader, Dustin Rhodes, Great Muta, Van Hammer, Danny Spivey, Sting, Steve Williams and Barry Windham. Vader and Sting start brawling on the ramp right away, as the other six slug it out inside of the ring. An eight-man battle royal is such a weird concept to begin with. And WCW makes it even weirder by splitting the screen into not two but THREE sections, like a World War 3 battle royal, or something. There's eight guys in the damn ring! Just go to a wide angle, and leave it the fuck alone! Lots of nothing punch-kick stuff, with only Sting and Vader doing anything interesting. First elimination comes when Williams backdrops Hammer out, as Rhodes spills onto the ramp to bulldog Windham. Sting tosses Spivey, and then does a double elimination with Vader, and Dustin slams Barry off the top rope, and plants him with a DDT. They fight onto the ropes, so Williams tries to charge them both, but ends up taking both Dustin and himself out of the match. That leaves Muta and Windham, and Barry controls with a floatover suplex. Side suplex follows, as does a vertical superplex. They're trying to turn this into something, but it just needs to wrap up already. Barry tries to toss him, but Muta skins the cat, and dropkicks Windham out to win it at 13:55. No idea why they booked Muta to go over here. Slow, boring limp of a finish to the show, especially on the heels of that hot tournament final. ¼* (Original rating: ¼*)

BUExperience: Any show with a match as good as Vader/Sting isn’t a total loss, but overall this comes across as a very unfocused effort. The Lethal Lottery concept was actually far better executed this year than the previous version (in no small part thanks to only booking a lean four matches that wrapped up within the first hour, and then moving on), but too many guys making multiple appearances, and a couple of real stinkers in the middle of the show really drag this one down. Which is a shame, because the high points are among the best individual matches in Starrcade history to that point – and even now. Not really worth your time, but definitely make a point of checking out the King of Cable final, and stay for the tag title bout as well.

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